Birds – Maldo Travels

Condor Park & Quitsato Sundial

Jean Maldonado — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 21:43:00 +0000

Located on a hill just outside Otavalo, it takes less than 2 hours to get to Condor Park from Quito. It’s best to get there by car since once at Otavalo, it’s quite an off the beaten path route to the site. Or you could take a bus to Otavalo and then take a taxi/Uber¹ up the hill. You may have to walk the way back down which would take about an hour. We made our way by car and took the Panamericana highway to make a stop at the Quitsato Sundial. This site is about 1 hour 20 minutes down the highway just before reaching Cayambe. You can take a bus from Quito to Cayambe and get off at La Bola de Guachalá. If going by car, there is plenty of parking available. We first made a stop at La Bola de Guachalá where there is the welcome sign for Cayambe. Across the road, there is also a monument dedicated to the equatorial line and the peace between Ecuador and Korea. Quitsato is then a short walk away and this site is a large sundial located at exactly latitude 0.0, whereas the Middle of the World Monument is slightly off. It costs 2 USD² to visit the site and a guide gives a history of the sundial and how it works. After the talk, we walked around to take some pictures and then continued on the highway towards Otavalo.

After driving for about 35 minutes just before getting to Otavalo and after passing Lake San Pablo, we got off the highway to climb up the hill to Condor Park. Most of these roads are paved and signs direct you to the site. Make sure you follow the signs since they will take you through paved roads whereas Google Maps may take you via steep dirt roads. There is plenty of parking available at the site and entrance costs 3.50 USD each. There is a scheduled show of a bird taking flight and we were told there would be one at 4 PM.

We got there just before 4 PM but they had started the show earlier so we only caught the end of it. The show takes place in an amphitheater at the end of the park. The handler had a small hawk and an eagle. The birds had already flown when we got there and he was finishing up his talk. After he was done, people were invited to take pictures with the birds. We were only allowed to hold the small hawk as the larger eagle wasn’t fully trained yet. After taking pictures, we went around the park to take a look at the birds. The highlight is the eagles and the condors. A pair of condors had just been given a piece of meat and we got to see them fighting over it.

As we walked around, outside some of the cages there were panels with the story of the rescued bird. We spent about an hour walking around before heading back to the parking lot. When exiting the site, you get a great view of the Imbabura volcano and Lake San Pablo. The clouds were clearing up a bit as we were leaving so we managed to see almost all of the majestic volcano. On the way down the hill, you also get great views of the tourist town of Otavalo. We drove through the town and then headed back to Quito.

San Jacinto – Relaxing Beaches

Jean Maldonado — Sat, 28 Dec 2019 23:25:00 +0000

From the capital city Quito, it’s about a 6-hour 30-minute drive down the winding roads that descend the Andes. We left at around 6 AM and stopped in Santo Domingo de Los Tsachilas for some breakfast at around 8.30 AM. We then continued for another 2 hours and 30 minutes to Chone where we took a small break at around noon. We then drove 1 hour 15 minutes to San Jacinto getting there at around 1.30 PM. It’s a very small town and joins with San Clemente. We stayed in a villa just off the highway which was 2 blocks from the beach. After settling in, we headed to a restaurant in San Clemente. The tide was high in the late afternoon with violent waves crashing onto the rocky shores. It wasn’t possible to get in the sea but there was a beautiful sunset on the horizon.

The following day, we headed to San Jacinto beach where there’s a colorful sign with the town’s name. The tide was low now with gentle waves so it was possible to get in. A family friend was from the area and he met us there and took us to a beach a little further south towards Crucita. This beach was on the mouth of a river so you could bathe in the river as well. There was also a protected mangrove swamp where you can go for a walk. A site official takes you around and provides info on the flora and fauna. It’s free but they sell bracelets to help with the maintenance of the site. There are several birds at the beach, especially cranes. You can also look for small crabs popping out from their burrows.

At around 4 PM, we went to get some food at Hotel San Jacinto. They have a seaside restaurant serving fresh seafood and outdoor seating. They have a viewpoint looking out to the sea that you can climb. The waves break on the banks so you’ll get wet when a large wave comes in. After eating, we headed to Bahia de Caráquez which was about a 40-minute drive away. There’s a small town in this bay which has a large bridge that crosses over to San Vicente. We drove over the bridge and walked out to a pier at San Vicente Malecon which has great panoramic views of the city. After the sun had set, we headed back to our villa.

On the final day, we headed to the beach at Crucita in the morning which was a 20-minute drive south of San Jacinto. This beach is more touristic and we had breakfast at one of the beachside restaurants. After breakfast, we went for a short stroll along the beach before making our way back to Quito.

Arequipa – Colca Canyon

Jean Maldonado — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 23:20:00 +0000

Following our adventure-filled stay at Cusco, we took an overnight bus to Arequipa which departed at 8.30 PM and arrived around 7 AM. Tickets for the more comfortable VIP seat that reclines further back cost 60 PEN³ each. The Cusco terminal also has a usage fee of 1.40 PEN. If you take a taxi/Uber⁴ to the terminal, then the taxi entrance fee is 1.30 PEN. It’s a fairly smooth ride to Arequipa and we were able to get some sleep overnight. Our hotel in Arequipa was next to the Santa Catalina Monastery. We took a 15 minute Uber from the bus terminal which cost 10 PEN.

The City and Finding Tours

Our room wasn’t ready so we dropped off our bags at the hotel and then went to the Plaza de Armas to look for tours. A visit to the Colca Canyon was a must for us and we were presented with several options. A 1-day, 2-day or 3-day tour. The 1-day tour seemed too rushed and the 3-day tour looked great, but we wanted to leave our third day in Arequipa for another activity. So we went for the 2-day tour with a trekking option. For our third day, we decided to do a rafting tour. Once we reserved the tours, we went for a walk around the city and found the central market so we had some lunch there. We then went to the Aventura Mall to grab some snacks and water for the 2-day Colca Canyon tour. At around 3 PM, we headed back to the hotel to get our room. We got some rest before heading out for a quick walk in the evening. Since we were going to be picked up around 3 AM the next day, we went to bed early to rest up before the trek. The city of Arequipa is quite small and beautiful. It also has quite a good nightlife which we explored when we returned from the Colca Canyon tour.

Colca Canyon - Day 1

We were picked up from our hotel at around 3 AM. The tour bus then made stops at other hotels to pick up other people before making our way to the Colca Canyon. We stopped at a small town for breakfast around 8 AM and reached the viewpoint at Cruz del Condor at around 9.30 AM. At this viewpoint, you get the chance to see some Andean condors in flight. You’ll need a camera with a telephoto lens zoom to get a good close up picture. If you don’t get lucky enough to catch some condors, the viewpoint offers great landscape views of the canyon. After about 30 minutes at the viewpoint, the tour bus then takes us to the starting point of the trek which is about a 20-minute drive from the viewpoint. Day 1 of the trek is pretty straightforward since its all downhill. In total it’s about 3-hours 30-minutes of trekking and everyone walks together with the guide in front. The guide breaks the walks up into 20-30 minutes each and gives info on the canyon and vegetation in the breaks. At around 1 PM, we made a stop for lunch.

The lunch spot is shortly after reaching the bottom of the canyon and crossing the river. We had about 1-hour 30-minutes for lunch before continuing to the oasis lodge. In this last leg of the trek, there is a small stall where you can buy snacks and water. At the end of the trek, you cross the river again and the oasis lodge is a short walk from there. We reached the lodge at around 4.30 PM. Rooms were allocated based on the groups we came in. If you came solo, they’ll pair you up with another solo traveler. The guide then tells us dinner will be served at 6 PM so until then, we have time to shower, rest, and use the pool. The rooms were quite basic and there is no power socket, so make sure you take a portable charger. There are 2 showers and these are shared by everyone so we took a shower before resting or heading to the pool. Also, there are no lights in the showers, so take a flashlight. The pool has a bar and some seating area. The water was a little chilly so we didn’t get in and just rested by the pool for a bit. At 6 PM we then moved to the dining area for dinner. After dinner, the guide gave us instructions for the next day to be ready at 5 AM to begin the trek up the canyon. He said some flashlights were available but we could also use our phones. He also mentioned that this trek was a lot more difficult, and if you’re worried you can’t make it up, you could hire a mule. After the talk, you can head for bed or stay until around 8-9 PM in the dining area which had lights. We stuck around and played some card games with other travelers. Once the lights were out, we then went to bed to rest up for the early morning trek.

Colca Canyon - Day 2

It was quite a chilly night at the lodge and we were up at around 4.30 AM to get ready to leave at 5 AM. We waited at the meeting point for about 10 minutes for everyone to turn up. The guide said it would take about 3 hours to trek up and for this one, we could go at our own pace since there is only one route and can’t get lost. The trek up starts at around 2100 meters ending at 3200 meters and is exhausting. It’s quite cold in the early hours but as the sun comes out, it starts to get hot. The sun comes up at around 6 AM and you get great views of the canyon at sunrise. Once at the top, there’s an area to rest and sit under some shade. We waited for about 20-30 minutes for the rest of the group to arrive. Next, it’s a short 20-minute walk to the town of Cabanaconde for breakfast. Along the way, we come across a viewpoint for some pre-Inca terraces.

Once we’re done with breakfast, the tour bus then takes us to the hot springs near the town of Yanque. Entrance to the hot springs costs 15 PEN. This is optional though and you can choose to chill by the river. The river water is freezing whilst the water in the thermal baths can reach 38 degrees. From the thermal baths, there’s access to the river for people to jump in after getting out of the hot springs. We’re given about an hour here before heading for lunch in Chivay where we’re taken to a buffet-style restaurant. This is optional and you can choose to go elsewhere. The buffet cost 30 PEN each and was very good. Next, we begin the journey back to Arequipa and make a stop at the viewpoint ‘Mirador de Los Andes‘. This is a viewpoint of all the surrounding mountains and volcanos. You can also take a picture with llamas/alpacas that the locals bring here. We arrived back at Arequipa at around 5 PM and the tour bus leaves everyone at their hotels or the Plaza de Armas.